“Run Away From Me” by James John Wilson

MP3 Download

Run Away From Me

If you like what you hear, then become a fan… http://www.reverbnation.com/jameswilson

Song Background

My band mate, Marc Jacob showed me a really cool capo setting he saw Steve Earl using.    It is on the second fret without the top E string left open.  The E string is left to resonate really deeply.   I was looking for something more emotional and resonant. I found three great chords using this setting.  This need was inspired by The Uglysuite “… And We Became Sunshine” which I had been playing over and over again.

I was riffing just to figure out where the words would go and how they would sound.  These were the first words that came out.  I try to make a habit of trusting my instincts, my insides, and they need to let my subconscious speak.  I feel songs becomes more personal and emotional that way.

The words are short and sweet.  I believe the have the following meaning… I seem to have an annoying, perpetual sense of not being worthy or not belonging.  But that other people and creatures alike are drawn toward things… to migrate, to  congregate, to be together, but I do not have this as a part of my life.

Lyrics

Run away from me

Birds fly towards the warm sun

Little boys and girls, they run to their mom

We’re FAMOUS! Upcoming gig at Black Cat Cafe!

Here is a banner from http://www.rivertownsguide.com/index.php for our show this Saturday.

2010-02-05 #social #media #music #finds #this #week

This is a little late, but late than never.

Chelsea Lyn Labate

Found via @reverbnation review of top 25 folk music artists in New York City area.   She truly has a distinctive voice almost cultural like Sineade O’conner but more elegant.

http://www.reverbnation.com/jameswilson#/chelsealynnlabate

Mumford And Sons

I bought “Little Lion Man”

Found via @Evnstn via twitter http://www.myspace.com/mumfordandsons

Nice fiddle gives a blue grass feel.  Lyrical very strong and sung with a lot of passion.  They appear to have a very large following.  Nice find!

KELLI RAE POWELL

Rated one of the 50 best albums by Lucid Culture.  Her press is unanimous… “Sultry… sassy… jazz… and a wonderful entertainer… ”

http://www.reverbnation.com/jameswilson#/kelliraepowell

Emma Wallace

Found via Emma Wallace (@jamemma)

Piano centric folk music, lyrically strong, can be bouncy at times, but in a cool way I guess, catchy.  Really clean and put together compositions.   Voice is very nice with interesting intonations which I love,  sweat and clean.  Nice find.

http://www.myspace.com/iamemma

Other Mentions

Amber Rubarth

http://www.myspace.com/amberrubarth

Singer-Songwriter Sessions Venue: The Bitter End (212) 673-7030 149 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10012+1437

Review | Tag | Add to List | Send to Friend

Share This

“I Regret To Say”

Click here–> “I Regret To Say” Download or Stream stream ReverbNation.com

If you like what you hear, please become a fan. http://www.reverbnation.com/jameswilson

About the Song

This song was written, recorded, upload and blogged in 4 hours on Saturday, 30th, 2010.  The inspiration and emotion comes from way back.  No one should have to live in a bad situation.   Words hurt…  Enough said.   Sometimes a song spills out… messy… but can be very cathartic.

Lyrics

F                                              A

You tried to run me down

…………………F

With your words

………………………………..A

You tried to run me down

……………B

It was            hateful and hurtful

………………………….A

And I don’t have to live

…………………………………….E

I don’t have to live this way

…………………………..C

I can do without this

G                                  D               Em        C                A       Bm

I regret to say  – e   -eh   -ay  -yeah

……………..E

I regret to say

C  G  D  Em  C  A

Bm                               E

………I regret to say

“Haze” by James Wilson

Download/Stream

“Haze” by James Wilson

About the Song

Suicide is a profound event for an individual and anyone related to that individual.  Most of us are sort of “comfortably numb” living life.  In times of extreme stress, sometimes our minds wonder “what if…”   Would it be peaceful?  All the stress floating away.    This song tries to capture some of the intense emotion and thoughts of suicide.

About the Lyrics

I had better explain this line… “I’m pregnant with laughter In my darkest dreams”.    Being pregnant is not quite there.  There is no baby, so there is this intense anticipation that something is coming BUT is not happened yet.   Taking this further, pregnancy can be very uncomfortable and even life threatening.   Being “pregnant with laughter” means that laughter is not being experienced.  It is there all tied up and uncomfortably and awkward inside.  Have you ever seen a really pregnant future mom trying to walk, to sit, to stand.    It can be hard for them.     There is something that is stuck inside, not experienced, but on hold waiting to come out.  And, when it comes outs, it will be a big event, and quite painful.  So there is an uncomfortable connotation to this line which is accented by having it occur in “dark dreams”.  This is instead of “wildest” or “happy” dreams.

Every verse line rhyme with “aze.”  This was a little bit of a challenge to myself, but I was happy even though some of the lines are a little trite.   I did not have the chorus words rhyme so it stands out.  I used the following site to help find words.  http://www.onelook.com/?w=*aze&loc=scworef&scwo=1&sswo=1&ls=a

Video

Shot at Lucy’ Lounge – Pleasantville, NY. Please excuse the a group of three of four really loud assholes in the audience;  otherwise, the crowd was great.  Notice at the end, I almost pull over the entire PA system.  Whoops. Ahaha.

Chords

3/4 timing

| D | A | G | Bm | A | x 100

| D | A | G | Bm | A | E | A|

(I do not play or stress the middle beat of three.)

The Lyrics

(verse 1)

Her mind is ablaze

Her emotions a maze

Her eyes have a fixed gaze

Her smile is a thin glaze

(chorus)

Please don’t fade into the haze

Please let me be

Please let me go

I’m pregnant with laughter In my darkest dreams.

(verse 2)

She’s gone at the holidays

She hides in a daze

She swears it’s just a phase

She says they’ll be better days

“Sweet as a Day” by James Wilson

Link for Download

James Wilson Profile on ReverbNation.com

Accompanied by Marc Jacoby (of Rockmitzvah and Marc The Musicman fame) for backup vocals and lead guitar, and Mike Levine on bass.

Story

I have been trying to get out of a dark angry phase for such a  long time.   In early December 2009, I was feeling really warm and fuzzy about my wife, and going through a really peaceful period (mainly because of the work I have had to do!!!).   Largely that stems from giving up the drink (3 years now!).

I was screwing around with some chords, went I hit the quick D-G stanza combination.  It did not sound great but was something different for me since I am typically drawn to the “3/4”,  longer,  slower,  chord progressions (driven mainly by skill level… ahahahaha).  I decided to stick with it, that is could be something.  It was not till I found the full stanza A to Em combination that the chorus popped out of my subconscious,  “Sweet as a day”.

This is an interesting song in that the last 8th beat of the chorus is dropped as the final D becomes instead the first beat of the new verse which was really a pleasant, and quite cool, surprise.  Thanks to Mike Levine for pointing that out.

This is by far my favorite song to sing with Marc and Mike!!!  They make it sound so nice!!!

Chords

(Intro)

“4/4” timing

| D   G  | D   G  |   x 2

(Verses)

| D   G  | D   G  |   x 2

(Chorus)

| A    | Em | A    | Bm  A  | G|  (Last G is a half measure into the verse/intro D chord so no 8th beat).

| D  G  | D   G  |   x 2

Lyrics

(Verse 1)

Wake up and take head of this day

She said as she washes her face

(Chorus)

And that’s all she’d say

And then she’d walk up to me and make me feel Sweet As A Day

Sweet As A Day

(Verse 2)

Be careful the words that you say

We don’t want to scare them away

(Repeat chorus)

(Verse 3)

Make the most of the rest of your days

She said as she passes my way

(Repeat chorus)

© Copyright 2010

“Away Away” by James Wilson

Link to music download http://www.reverbnation.com/jameswilson…

Story:

This song came after an argument with Sasha.  I was thinking about the impetus of almost every argument coming from my past, my history.   I was thinking back through things I had heard, things I could no longer remember, where I found comfort along the way, how I have been searching for some peace, how one changes throughout life, and changes over time.

I sang the first verse semi-consciously as I was walking the dog.  Realizing my subconscious was speaking out, I finished my chore, sat to write, and within 24 hours the song was done.

I can’t wait to work on this with Marc Jacoby (Marc the Music Man and of Rockmitzvah) and Mike Levine.

Chords:

(Intro)

| B  | D  | A  | B | X 2

(Verse)

| B  | D  | A  | B |

| D  | A  | B  | D |

| A  | B  | D  | A |

| B  | D  | A  | B |

(Chorus)

| E  | D  | G  | G  | X 4

Lyrics

(verse 1)

I can’t remember the words of my father

I can’t hear the whispers of the trees

I found my message in a bottle

I fear my deeper side is dead to me

(chorus X 2)

Away, Away, My Message of Anger

Away, Away, Peace come back to me.

(verse 2)

I can’t remember the words of my youth

I no longer search for the truth

I saw a vision in a bottle

My childhood vestiges are lost to me.

(repeat chorus)

(repeat verse 1)

(repeat chorus)

© Copyright 2010

The story behind and lyrics for “Brother John” by James Wilson

I have been ask by several folks about the origins of Brother John, a song I wrote in the summer 2008.  Folks have also wanted me to share the lyrics and chords.  I was never a huge fan of Brother John, but funny enough, during my last show, I got a lot of positive feedback regarding this specific song, so here goes…

Story

I was watching an Arlo Guthrie concert at the Arlo Guthrie Peace Center in Great Barring, MA.  Arlo is a great performer.  He is very funny with a lot of style and character.  He was telling a tale related to one of his peace songs, and started to tell the crowd how important and meaningful it was that we were all sharing a moment of peace together during the concert at that moment in time.  That this nugget of peace would be infectious, that it would seep out everyone and touch everything, and lead to a greater level of peace in the world.  It might sound a little hokey but it was not.  The moment was swift and passing but profound.  It touched me deeply.

That night sat with me all the next day becoming a solid inspiration.  I had stopped drinking in the last year and was spending more time playing the guitar and writing songs.  I decided to write a song about peace and a journey to find peace, much like the journey I was taking in my own personal small way to stop drinking, and get more engaged in my family and children’s lives.  So I started writing, and eventually Brother John was written.  It did not take long to write.  Most of my songs flow out pretty quickly.  I am not going to dive into my own creative process at this point.

The surprise was the song’s structure which emerged around the life of man.  So the song became a life anthem as well as a peace anthem which was very pleasing.   Sometimes we are not born into peaceful worlds or with peaceful minds.  It is a journey through time to find peace.   I am still on my way for sure.  This song is certainly a part of the path.

In the end, Arlo was right.  That shared moment in time, in the summer of 2008, in deed founds its way to another part of the world in the form of a song (and in the form of this blog) which I am now sharing in other moments of time when I sing to friends, family, and at my shows.

I am not sure how I came up with “Brother John” in the original lyrics.  I think I wanted to invoke a religious undertone, not for Christianity sake, but for pure reverence and a sense of the profound.  It was clearly also the right lyrical snippet from which to name the song.  My father’s name is John, my middle name is John, and the lyrical timing needed a one syllable name so there are multiple underpinnings to the name.

Lyrics

John traveled widely looking for answers                                  (Verse 1)
Made his way down deserts of New Mexico
Found solace in booze and peyote plant
Visioned him an eagle who spread wings and did chant.

Brother John, There are no answers, No answers I swear. (Chorus 1)
Peace comes from within and it flows everywhere
Its a part of you son, if you listen its there.
Learn to grow it, and then learn how to share.

John didn’t listen to the vision too well.                                       (Verse 2)
Acted like he was going to hell.
Got into a fight and was stabbed three times.
Doctor said I saved you now here’s a piece of my mind.

Young Man, Young Man, There are no answers I swear      (Chorus 2)
Peace comes from within and it flows everywhere
Its a part of you son, if you listen its there.
Learn to grow it, and then learn how to share.

John didn’t know if he was good or bad                                       (Verse 3)
Pondered his life and the mis-steps he’d had
One night while listening to a legend of song
The words hit him like a breeze from a storm

Brother John, ….                                        (Chorus 3 is same as Chorus 1)

As John grew older, he knew he was fine                                   (Verse 4)
Tapped into a force that grew more over time
One night he noticed that his son looked disturbed
He said son relax and then utter these words

My son, my son, There are no answers I swear                       (Chorus 4)
Peace comes from within and it flows everywhere
Its a part of you son, if you listen its there.
Learn to grow it, and then learn how to share.

Chords

D, G, A, D

3/4 Time

Between verses, play a D chord for four beats hammering on the 3rd (G) string.

Download

Brother John by James Wilson

Become a Fan

If you like what you hear, please become a fan by clicking on the button on my ReverbNation profile page.